A boy confronted with a post-traumatic stress(PTSD) will not be affected the same way as a girl. The reason for this difference between the sexes is thought to be in the brain. The team of Dr Megan Klabunde from the Stanford University school of medicine in the United States explains it in a study in the journal Depression and anxiety. They find that boys and girls in the throes of post-traumatic stress syndromes –nightmares, anxiety, sleep disturbances, flashbacks, persistent negative emotions, etc. – present a difference in the structure of one area of the brain. This region, located in the cerebral cortex, is called the singular cortex or insula.
If its role is still poorly understood, the insula would be linked to emotions, and in particular empathy, disgust, fear and pain.
In girls facing post-traumatic stress this island cortex is much smaller in size than in boys also affected by PTSD.
The researchers hypothesize that in girls, the trauma would promote accelerated aging of the insula, explaining this difference in volume and size.
Post-traumatic stress to be treated differently depending on the sex
The data were obtained after analyzing the brains of 59 children. 14 girls or 16 boys had suffered at least one episode of stress while 15 girls and 14 boys had never experienced trauma.
This observation suggests that when faced with post-traumatic stress, girls and boys develop distinct symptoms which should prompt health professionals to adapt the care according to the sexes.
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